And Then Abby Found Me
by Quicksilver19
Summary: Pretty self-explanitory... story about the beginnings of Abby and King meeting...
1. Found

"And then Abby found me..."

Note: okay, this is my take on when Abby finds King... it'll go on so review and I'll update soon... any ideas that you have, that'd be awesome... I know it's been done before but I thinkpeople were kindajyped byhow there's so much history between the two without showing it... anyway, let me know!

Chapter 1: Found

¤ ¤ ¤

King pushed away the body with disgust and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"You like that, baby?" Danica stalked over to him, her hips swaying, a smirk playing on her face.

He snarled at her and stalked to another room.

But she followed him. "Hannibal, you're no fun anymore…" She swung at him, knocking him into the wall. "Puppy's not being obedient…" She aimed a kick at him, which he dodged, and she shrieked in indignation. "Come back here!"

Fuck you, gutterslut."

She pouted. "I wish you would." She turned to the door. "Asher!"

Her brother entered a few moments later, followed by Turk. "What is it, sister?" he asked, bored.

"He's pissing me off… Put him away for awhile until he realizes what he's done wrong…"

King tried to run but they caught him, laughing.

"You should really feed more often, King. You are so weak…" Asher noted, laughing.

"Yeah, you pussy," Turk added.

"Blood's not my thing," King quipped. "I prefer a nice tall glass of milk, thanks. You know osteoporosis kills millions every year…"

Turk snarled, punching him.

He blacked out.

¤ ¤ ¤

He came to in a cell, chained to the wall, in Danica's room. The owner was lying on her bed, sucking blood off her fingers from a bowl. "Good morning, sweetie…" She stood up and came towards the cell. Running her fingers across the bars, her nails clicking. "About time you woke up… you going to play nice now?"

He bared his teeth silently, turning he face to the wall.

"No one ignores me!" she shrieked, slamming her hand on the bars. She sloshed something from a jar.

It burned when it hit his skin. He cowered away and she cackled. "Holy water doesn't agree with you, baby?" Opening the door, she entered the cage, something hidden behind her back. "Time to play, darling." She kicked him, laying him out on his back. Straddling his hips, she ripped open the remains of his shirt before pulling the box of matches from behind her back. Striking one, she watched the flame, entranced, before dropping it onto his bare chest. He writhed and moaned and she cackled. "Oh, yeah, that's what I missed about you… you want more?" She struck another.

Suddenly, the door flew off its hinges, a vampire pinioned to it by arrow momentarily before he exploded into dust. Moments later, a girl stepped into view, surveying the room coolly. Her eyes settled on Danica and King before a lackey jumped at her from behind. She swiveled just in time to put an arrow between his eyes. She slung her bow over her shoulder and jumped up, decapitating him with one kick.

Three more entered the picture and she dispatched them just as easily. She turned to Danica and King coolly. "Decided humans weren't as fun to torture so you've turned on your own kind?" she asked, her voice low.

King couldn't take his eyes off her. She was a sleek, beautiful predator, one of the infamous Nightstalkers he'd heard the other vampires talking about. They were killing machines – trained to destroy vamps like a kid in a candy store on a sugar high.

Danica hissed and came out of the cell, shutting the door behind her. She threw herself at the girl.

The human delivered a swift kick to her head, driving her hand into the back of Danica's head and kneeing her in the face.

Danica whimpered, got up and bolted for the door.

The girl unslung her bow and fired an arrow after her but judging by her reaction, she'd missed. Then she turned back towards him. She came towards the cage, close enough to see him but far enough to be out of reach if he jumped at her.

King looked up at her through a haze of pain and thought she was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen. "Who are you?" he managed to croak, though it hurt to talk.

She looked down at him impassively. "I should kill you."

He coughed, feeling broken ribs tentatively healing. "Please do."

Another vampire ran at her and she staked him neatly without looking away from King. "Why do you want to die?" she asked, pulling out a gun and aiming it at him.

He didn't even flinch. "I've got nothing left. I hate this half life."

She opened the cell door and stepped inside, training the gun on him. She wasn't very nervous. The guy looked about ready to pass out. He was so pitiful looking. "I can't believe I'm doing this…" She aimed and fired off a few shots…

¤ ¤ ¤

King closed his eyes as she squeezed the trigger. It was weird. He thought it would hurt more than this.

"Can you walk on your own or do you need help?"

He opened his eyes to see her glancing down his body for injury. The cuffs were lying scattered around in pieces. "What?"

"I'm getting you out of here."

He narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

An explosion in another area of the mansion saved her from having to reply. "Let's go. They've started the sanitizing process…" She leaned down and pulled him up, draping his arm over her shoulder. "Bite me and I'll stake you."

"Yes, ma'am."

They struggled through the halls, hearing screams and rooms exploding.

"Hurry," she urged. "We're almost out."

They burst out to four people aiming shotguns.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" Abby called.

King cowered behind her. Through the haze of pain, he noticed the smooth looking skin of the small of Abby's back. He reached out to caress it.

She whirled, confused, then slammed him in the side of the head.

¤ ¤ ¤

Alright, well, that's it for now… let me know what you think and please review! Oh, yeah, and the whole playing with King in the cell is borrowed from Buffy – so I guess I have to give credit to Joss Whedon for the idea… Ciao!


	2. Breaking Through

Chapter 2: Breaking Through

¤ ¤ ¤

He felt sick. Not chicken noodle soup and Kleenex cold sick but wanting to curl up in the fetal position and cry because it feels like there's a creature in your stomach wanting to get out. Or maybe like two creatures wrestling in your stomach. And not just in his stomach but in his head. He tried to move, tried to hold his stomach, hold his head, but he couldn't… He. Just. Couldn't. Move.

And then the fire. It felt like fire was moving through his veins, moving throughout his body, scorching everything in its path. And then he felt like he was in an inferno, his skin was on fire, his limbs were no longer under his control. He couldn't think at all.

And then something cool touched his cheek and it over, he was left in the dark. He gasped a few times and became aware of his surroundings. In a dark room. He moved. Or tried to move. He was strapped down to a hospital bed, machines all around, beeping, and an I.V. dripping hypnotically. And sleeping in a chair beside the bed was a girl… He stared at her for a few moments as memories slid back into place… the girl who had saved him. She was damn beautiful, especially in sleep. And she looked damn tough. He shifted, straining against the straps to get a better look at her.

She started awake, eyes darting.

And apparently a light sleeper…

"You're awake. How do you feel?"

"Good." He blinked. "Surprisingly good." The demons inside him were quiet for once. No, wait… he searched for them. They were gone. "What did you do to me?"

She stood up. "We healed you." She picked a hand mirror up off the table next to her and held it up for him.

He stared. Gone were the ridges, gone were the teeth, gone were the cat eyes. All that was left was the face he hadn't seen in years. "Oh my good god. How did you do it?"

"Sommerfield, our resident genius fixed you up."

He nodded, sliding easily back into humour as a safety net. "Can you get these straps off me? I'm just not that kind of guy…"

"Oh, of course. Sorry." She jumped to help him. As she leaned over him to loosen the strap, he caught her scent, a light citrus smell mixed with her own unique smell. He could hear the blood pounding through her veins, her steady heartbeat. So, obviously his senses weren't completely gone…

"So, what's the deal? Do I get to keep anything?" he asked casually.

She looked down at him. "Your senses are heightened, you're stronger but for the next few weeks we have to give you injections to complete the transformation back. And you have to stay in bed under observation for the next week."

"Okay, sure, whatever." He didn't care. If they asked him to stand on his head and juggle puppies with his feet he'd do it. Broken glass? No sweat. He might even be up for burning coals and bare feet… He was free of the demons that haunted him day and night, laughing at his weakness when he fed, egging him on. He wanted to laugh, to sing, to run out in the streets. Instead, he did the next best thing. He grabbed Abby and kissed her hard.

She pulled away, eyes wide. "I-I…"

He laughed. "I'm sorry, I'm just so…" He felt wetness on his cheeks and realized he was crying. "I'm sorry…"

She sat back down on the bed and put her hand on his arm, a bit awkwardly. "It's okay… you're going through a big thing…"

"Thank you." He hugged her around the waist, sobbing. "Thank you."

Her eyes softened and she rubbed his back, rocking him.

It was a long time before he quieted down and finally slept. She disentangled herself and stood up to find Sommerfield in the doorway.

"How's he doing?" the blind scientist asked quietly, holding out her hand for Abby.

Abby took it and they started walking along the length of the ship. "He's okay. Pretty emotional but that's to be expected."

"Yeah, I heard. Poor guy."

"He's tough. He'll make it through."

They got to the stairs and went up on deck.

"He's going to need someone to talk to…" Sommerfield said, feeling for the railing.

"Very subtle, Sommerfield…" Abby replied wryly.

"Well, it's just that we worry about you…"

"We?" Abby's eyebrows rose.

Sommerfield laughed. "I can just see imagine your face right now. Don't be so shocked. We worry about you all alone out there. You're too serious and sad for your age."

Abby stopped and leaned out to look in the distance. "We're all young. And we all knew the risks coming in…"

"Yeah, but you don't have to go it alone."

"I don't have time for a rookie…"

¤ ¤ ¤

"Come on, Whistler, you can do better than that," King teased, dancing around her.

She was tired and he knew it. She brought her hands back up and stalked him around the room. "You have an unfair advantage."

He swung and she ducked then came up with a one-two punch. He dropped and tripped her then danced back as she got up. "You're the one with the famous family ties."

She got back up. "You have super strength."

He circled her. "Yeah, but you're prettier. That's more distracting." He grinned.

Abby blushed and swung out at him so she wouldn't have to reply. She caught him off-guard and backed him into a corner. She faked a kick at his head, kneed him in the stomach lightly, and then flipped him over. She rested one knee on his chest and cocked a fist. "Give?"

He narrowed his eyes, grabbed her fist and rolled them over, pinning her to the floor. "Give?" he asked lightly, grinning.

She struggled but couldn't get free. "Fine, give."

He rolled off to sit next to her, breathing heavily. "Thank god. I don't think I would have lasted much longer." He got up, offering her a hand.

She accepted and as he pulled her up, Sommerfield entered with Zoe in tow. "Good, you've recovered real well… and your training has been getting better and better in the past few weeks…"

"So'm I slapped with a clean bill of health?" he asked casually.

She nodded. "You are one hundred percent human with a little bit extra, my friend."

"So, I'm good to go?" He was practically bouncing on his toes.

"Yep."

¤ ¤ ¤

Well, that's it… let me know what you think! Ciao!


	3. Fun in the Sun and Goin' Huntin'

Chapter 3: Fun in the Sun and Goin' Huntin'

¤ ¤ ¤

Someone was banging on her door. Abby rolled over to look groggily at her clock. Four-thirty. "Wha the-? Who the-?"

"Whistler, get dressed and open up! It's important!" King said anxiously.

She threw on some clothes, sheathing weapons and opened the door to find a dressed and alert King shifting from foot to foot. "King, what's wrong?"

"C'mon." He grabbed her hand and pulled her out to the black SUV already running.

They drove in silence until they came to a bluff overlooking the ocean.

He turned off the car and waited.

She peered out into the darkness. "What is it? Vamps?"

"Shh…" He looked in every direction, leaning first out his window to check something then towards her to peer into the darkness beside the car.

"You're not going to try and make out with me, are you?" she asked, jokingly. His closeness made her insecure. There was something about him that broke down her guard. His humour and pure joy sneaked through the cracks of the shields she'd so carefully put up and it scared her.

He shook his head, a serious look on his face for once. "Don't even try to ruin this for me." He got out and stood in front of the SUV, facing the ocean.

She got out and joined him, keeping quiet.

After a few minutes, it started to lighten and rays of sunlight started to peek over the sea.

She turned instead to look at King as the sun came up.

His face became calm and peaceful and he seemed to become more human as more and more of the sun appeared. It was as if the sunlight was chasing the last of the demons from him.

His arms came up and he closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun for the first time in five years. He stood for a few minutes, soaking up the sun then his eyes and turned to Abby. "Let's go swimming."

She laughed. "We don't have bathing suits."

"So? Your clothes are washable." He pulled her along as he ran down through the bush to a sandy cove. He let go of her hand and stripped down to his boxers before throwing himself into the surf. He bobbed up a few feet away. "C'mon, Whistler. Live a little!" He threw himself back into the surf, yelling.

Well, if he could be so blasé about getting naked then so could she… She kicked off her shoes after a slight hesitation, stripping down to her underwear before wading in slowly. "You're nuts!"

He stood still for a moment, frozen in place by the sight of her half-naked body. She was fuckin' gorgeous. Before she noticed though, he threw himself back into the surf, yelling. "You're too straight-laced. Have a little fun!" He reappeared like a dolphin a few minutes later, splashing her.

She swam out towards him. "You _are_ crazy."

¤ ¤ ¤

Later, they lay in the sand, drying out.

"I am going to get a fantastic tan. No more of this pale skin shit… I'm going to be tan and buff. Too bad no one'll see it because I'm too busy saving the world…"

She laughed, rolling over onto her stomach to squint at him as he made a sand angel. "You're insane."

He nodded, grinning and shrugging. He got out of the angel and started to draw in facial features.

"What are you going to do now?"

He smiled dreamily. "Grow a beard."

She grabbed a handful of sand and threw it towards him. "Seriously…"

He shrugged, sitting back on his heels to survey his work. "I don't know. I figured I'd just stay on and help you guys…"

She nodded. "I guess we could you your help. You'd have to train harder, of course. And we could really use your expertise as a vamp to track them…"

"I'd like that." His gaze shifted towards her, almost predatorily. Then he blinked and it was gone. "So what else do you people do for kicks around here?"

She stood up, brushing the sand from her body and started to get dressed. She checked her watch. "We should really get back before Sommerfield starts to worry…"

"Okay." He grabbed his clothes as well.

She covertly watched as he slid his t-shirt back on, watching his muscles flex and move under his skin. She shook her head. She couldn't get involved. Attachment in this line of work was weakness – it was dangerous.

"Okay, let's go."

They rode back in silence.

¤ ¤ ¤

Abby dropped down through the grate onto the catwalk. Thank god for the catwalk. She wrinkled her nose and peered disgustedly down at the sewage below. She'd spent two hours the night before scrubbing gunk off her boots and she didn't care for a repeat tonight.

King dropped down beside her with a thud. He immediately covered his nose with his arm. "Holy fuck, it smells…"

She shook her head. "Let's go. And keep quiet." There was nothing quiet about her new partner. He loved to make a scene and bring the vamps to him, sometimes dangerously so. But she had to admit that he was a great asset to the team. Thanks to all the info he supplied, they'd taken out twenty nests in as many nights. Impressive, even to her. And he could finally hold his own, thank god. The first time they'd gone out she'd had to save his ass a few times and her kill was 80. He'd only gotten the other 20 with luck. Now, they were usually 60/40 in her favour. She started moving to the north end of the tunnel.

He followed along, her shadow. "Yes, ma'am," he replied, a bit muffled by his hand. "Hey, you'd think that with all the money this guy supposedly had, he'd find some nicer digs… how are you standing this?"

She declined to answer, instead put her finger to her lips and turning towards the entrance of the tunnel, to the newest nest. Apparently, there would be ten vamps, five familiars. They had to keep the element of surprise. She crept closer, pulling out her bow and leaned in, an arrow expertly notched. She took out the first two vamps with ease, just the ash fluttering by warning the others before the cry went up. Then she launched herself down into it.

King was right behind her. "Kowabunga!" he yelled, jumping into the fray.

She lost sight of him and focused instead on the two familiars coming towards her with chains.

¤ ¤ ¤

King watched Abby dispatch the two familiars easily with swift kicks to the head. If he could, he would just sit back and watch her go all night long. It was enough to make a guy sweat thinking what else she could do with that awesome strength, flexibility and agility.

He was so distracted that he almost didn't see the lead pipe swinging at his head but ducked in time. "Didn't your mother teach you to play nice with the other kids?" he quipped, kicking the vamp hard in the stomach, spinning and kicking it in the face then staking it neatly. He jumped through the ash at the next vampire.

Fantasizing about Abigail Whistler would have to wait until the quiet of the base. For now, he'd have to use that extra energy to dust a few. Had to keep up with the little hellion or she'd rail him for it later. He whirled, slamming the stake deep into a vamp's chest, kicking another in the head. He grabbed a third and pulled its head down to slam it into his knee.

"King!"

He turned and his blood ran cold. "Get the fuck away from her!"

Abby was being held between two vampires with a third holding a red hot poker inches from her face.

"Wouldn't want to mar this pretty face of hers, do I?" the vamp sneered.

Abby struggled. "You asshole!"

"Get away from her!" King yelled again, storming towards them.

"Get back. Get the fuck back, boy." The vamp edged the poker closer.

King held up a hand, stopping ten feet from the group. "Okay, okay… ease up, champ. Don't want to do something that she'll kick your ass for later…" He fingered a stake under his jacket.

The vamp laughed. "You are in no position to give orders."

King shrugged, trying to keep a cool exterior. Inside, he was terrified. They could roast Abby before he could even move two feet towards them. 'Just keep their attention on you,' a small voice said in his head. 'Just keep it here…' "Don't say I didn't warn you…"

The vamp cackled, a cackle that turned into a gurgle as a stake seemed to materialize through his chest. "What the fu-?" And then he burnt up, the poker clanging to the floor.

Abby flipped herself over the familiars' arms, landing behind them.

King was already moving. He took a few strides, scooped up the poker and drove it straight through the heart of the first vamp.

She had already dispatched the other and they turned towards each other as the dust settled.

"Thanks."

"No problem.Y'know-"

Sommerfield's voice cut in through their earpieces, crackling as she said, "Abby, King, we got news of another nest. Feeling up to it?"

"You know it," Abby replied, the light of battle coming back into her eyes.

¤ ¤ ¤

So, that's it, let me know what you think! Ciao!


	4. Attachment

Chapter 4: Attachment

¤ ¤ ¤

They moved slowly over the roof of the warehouse towards the hatch. Below them, they could hear the vamps laughing and carrying on. They were definitely drunk and having a party, which meant victims. Which meant they had to move fast.

Abby stepped forward and King picked up an audible crack as hidden glass under her started to break. "Wait, Whistler, wait," King dove, pushing her out of the way as the glass gave way. He crashed down, falling onto a table in the middle of a vamp feast. "Evening ladies…" he managed, pulling himself up and moving to cover his back. "My name's Hannibal King and I'm here from the Nameless Hookers Who Go Missing Board. We just want to know that you're satisfied with your business with our clients…"

"Get him!" a vamp shrieked and they swarmed towards him.

He pulled his guns from his holsters, all charged up, and started firing. A particularly big vamp came at him with a lead pipe. He ducked the first swing but the second caught him in the side of the head. He tumbled against the wall, ears ringing. "Fuck me." He got back up, cat-quick. "Which one of you assholes hit me?"

The vampires moved in around him.

He glanced up at the empty skylight to the night above. "Six to one… I almost feel sorry for you guys."

"You think you can take us?" one cackled. "Alone?"

They fell about, laughing.

"No," he snarked back. "Not alone…"

Abby dusted two of them before dropping down behind them, stakes unsheathed. She drove a stake through another before any of them turned.

"That's my girl," he purred, silver stakes replacing his gun and snaking out to dusting two.

The remaining one's eyes darted from him to Abby, deciding something. He threw something at King, powder, and dove for Abby.

She warded off his blows, blades ringing on glades as he slammed down on her. They fought into the next room, out of sight.

King rubbed his eyes. He couldn't see shit. But he could feel someone near him. He pulled a gun, swinging it towards where he thought they would be.

Someone slashed his arm, kicking his legs from under him.

He landed hard, his guns clattering away. "Fuck me." His brain went into overload, automatically shifting his senses from sight to hearing, smell. His instincts took over, his arm shooting left and connecting with a face. He swept down, tripping and kicking at the same time. He heard a crack and felt the heat as the vamp faded to dust. He shook his head but his vision wasn't clearing. He couldn't yell to Abby. Part of it was his pride, that he couldn't admit he needed help. He didn't want to be rescued by a girl – a fucking hot and able girl – but a girl nonetheless. But more importantly, he didn't want to distract her and put her into danger. So, he'd have to handle this alone. And hey, maybe if he was lucky, there weren't anymore and he could just chill and wait for Abby to find him.

Nails raked his chest, tearing the front of his shirt to shreds. This time he couldn't hold it it, "Fuck!" he yelled. There had to be at least two of them.

¤ ¤ ¤

Abby heard King yell but there was nothing she could do at the moment. She had three ganging up on her. She lashed out, slamming one in the chest and punching another as he tried to sneak up on her.

A ninja with a katana sword whirled it around, coming at her. She blocked the first hit, felt the tip graze her arm as it came around again and before the third could hit its mark, she staked him. As the second threw itself at her, she already had her bow out and dusted it. She threw a silver stake at the last one.

"Whistler!"

She started running.

As she came into the room, she almost screamed.

King was stumbling around, being randomly hit and thrashed by three female vamps. He was bleeding from multiple wounds and starting to move slower and slower.

"Hey!" she yelled, bowstring singing as one of the vamps turned to dust.

"I told them that I was a one-woman kind of guy but they wouldn't listen…" King quipped, turning towards her. His eyes stung like a bitch, and he still couldn't fucking see a thing.

"Get away from him," she said steely, ignoring him. She was focused on one thing and one thing only. The two bitches toying with her partner. Anger welled up inside her. Amazing how attached she'd become to the motormouth in such a short time. She threw herself at the first, all punches and kicks.

The vamp screamed and fought back but was dusted in minutes.

She turned to the second vamp, who had grabbed King by the throat. "Move and he dies," the vampress hissed.

"Try it, bitch," Abby snarled.

"I'm sure we could work something out…" King started.

The vamp backed towards the door. Abby followed.

"Shut up," she hissed into his ear.

Abby's eyes flickered to King's red and puffy ones. Her eyebrows jumped minutely.

"Evenings? Weekends? Didn't your mother teach you to share?" he added.

"Shut up!" the blond-haired vamp snarled, distracted.

In moments Abby had her bow out, strung an arrow and drove it between the blond's eyes.

King shook the dust off. "God. Everywhere I go the ladies want me… what's with that?"

"Must be your vulnerability that draws them in…" she said dryly.

"Because I'm so sweet," he retorted, "All that sugar- wait…"

She paused listening. "Wha-"

"Shhh… someone's-"

"Hello sweatheart…" A vamp grabbed her around the neck.

King had his gun out in seconds. He couldn't fucking see but that wasn't going to stop him from defending Abby. "Get the fuck away from her," he growled.

The man laughed. "What're you gonna do punk?"

"This." He squeezed the trigger and drove a sundog into the man's forehead, duplicating Abby's shot.

They stood for a moment, panting then King dropped to the floor.

She ran towards him. "Shit. King?" She dropped to her knees beside him. "Don't you dare die on me, Rookie."

He waved his hand around to find hers. "Whistler? I can't see shit…"

She took his in both of hers. "Shh, King… don't talk… let's- wait, you can't see?"

He rubbed a hand over his eyes. "Nope."

"Nothing at all?"

"Nope."

She stared at him. "But you just dusted that guy without even blinking.

"Yeah, blind faith, babe…"

She helped him sit up. "We'll talk about it later. First we have to get you back to Sommerfield." She pulled him up, careful of his wounds. "Up you get, big guy." She managed to half-carry, half-drag him back to the Highlander and got them inside. "Hang on. We'll be back before you know it." She started the SUV and squealed from the warehouse's parking lot. Glancing over at him, she found him pale and motionless, his face drawn, his eyes closed. His silence scared her. She reached over and felt his wrist gently for a pulse. It was there, faint but steady.

"It you wanted to hold my hand, you could have just asked…" he sniped, smirking. But after a few moments, it changed to a grimace of pain. She could tell that it was just a cover. His hand opened, warm and inviting.

She took it and squeezed. "Die on me and I'll hunt you down in hell and drag you ass all the way back here."

"Oh, that'd be reason enough for me, Hellion. To se you and Lucifer duke it out for my soul…" he cracked, leaning his head back. A small smile played on his lips.

She squeezed his hand again. "Stay with me King."

His reply was barely above a whisper. "Always."

¤ ¤ ¤

Well?


	5. Wanting Normal

Chapter 5: Wanting Normal

¤ ¤ ¤

She watched him sleep, his breathing even. Fucking vampires. He had bandages over 60 percent of his body. He looked like shit. Like, when he'd been brought in the first time. She ran her fingers through his hair and down along his jaw. God. How did it come to this?

Infatuation.

It was dangerous. Too close of ties with member of the team led to weakness out on the field. But as she looked down at his sleeping form, she found her resolve weaken. God, how she wished that they were two normal kids, kicking around the city, able to have fun and go out and be normal. How she wished that the biggest problem that she would have to deal with would be deciding what outfit she was going to wear out on her Friday night date with him or deciding whose place they were going to spend the night at or even fucking studying for exams…

He shifted in his sleep, moving against her hand like a child searching for comfort.

She leaned down and kissed him lightly on the lips, a thrill going right down to her toes. "Get better, Hannibal. I need you."

As she left, his lips curved slowly up into a smirk and he shifted to a more comfortable position.

¤ ¤ ¤

He woke a week later, ravenous and full of energy. He was a bit stiff and sore and not completely healed but close… He loved that he'd kept at least some of his vampire healing powers. Sliding out of bed, he peered inside, drumming his fingers on the door. "What'll it be?" he muttered to himself.

"Wanna eat Count Chocula and watch Saturday morning cartoons with me?"

He jumped. "Sh-" he caught himself in time "-ure." Grabbing the milk, he closed the fridge to find a smiling Zoe on the other side. "Let's go, Princess." He grabbed bowls and spoons and she grabbed the cereal.

She took his hand. "I'm glad you woke up."

"Me too," he replied as they started for the rec room. "Me too…"

He caught up with Abby later on in the day, beating the shit out of a punching bag, wired up with her Ipod. He tapped her on the shoulder and had to duck as she swung out at him.

"Hey," he said as she removed her headphones.

"You shouldn't be out of bed," she reprimanded, checking him over quickly with her eyes. He looked much better. Not a hundred percent but better.

He shrugged. "Vamp healing. One of the perks. And you're one to talk," he added, staring at the bandage on her arm starting to show blood.

She shrugged back. "I'm fine. You're the one who almost died…"

"Yeah, thanks for saving my ass… again…" He kicked at non-existent rocks on the floor.

She shrugged. "I saved yours, you saved mine. Dangerously, I might add. How the hell did you make that shot?"

King grinned. "The magic of Disney…" he called as he started out of the room. He could hear her go back to the bag. He smirked. He loved to push her buttons.

¤ ¤ ¤

"Tell me again why we're at this club?" Abby yelled over the music.

King grinned. "Recon work. Apparently there's a ring going on in the clubs – perfect place to pick a victim. You can get sex and blood at the same time!"  
She surveyed the room with a frown. "I can't even hear myself think in this place."

He'd been scanning the room but now cocked his head towards her. "What!"

She tugged on his shirt, pulling him down and putting her mouth close to his ear to repeat the statement.

He revelled in her closeness, her smell, the feel of her hand on his arm. He closed his eyes, enjoying it for a second. Then, _No time for that now, King_, his inner voice snarked. _Stay on task_. "You get used to it!"

"You're loving this aren't you?" she asked, her face inches from his.

He jerked, thinking she knew. How did she know?

"You're in your element here!" she finished.

Oh. She didn't know. She was talking about the club. Damn. "I'm going to go grab a drink at the bar!"

"I'll go dance!" She tossed him a dazzling smile and sashayed off to the dance floor.

He ordered a whiskey and threw it back, idly watching Abby strut through the bar. If she didn't attract the suckheads, he didn't didn't know what would…

¤ ¤ ¤

God, the girl could move… King took a sip of his beer, feeling lightheaded, partially from the moderate amount of alcohol he'd consumed, partially from watching Abby. She'd been on the dance floor for an hour and attracted four vamps. One leaned in close and whispered something. She laughed, a dazzling laugh, and nodded. They started to leave. She tossed him a wink over her shoulder.

She was weaving, playing the drunken college chick role to the hilt. She kept moving from guy to guy, making sure they didn't get hold of her long enough for a pre-taste.

They were four blocks from the bar in a quiet area when the vamps decided to make their move. Two grabbed her by the arms. A third bared his fangs at her.

"Hey baby, ready for this?" he asked.

She turned, the light of battle in her eyes. "Oh yeah." She jumped up, kicked him in the face, them spun and kicked one of her captors.

King came out of the shadows, guns blazing.

They were dust in seconds.

"Well, that was fun," he remarked, holstering his guns and brushing the dust from his sleeve.

She grinned. "Amazing."

He eyed her for a second, her eyes bright, her body alert and ready for battle. "Hey, you want to go back for a bit?"

Abby cocked her head to the side. Typical King, wanting to party after the kill. It could be worse… "What?"

"Yeah," he said casually. "Blow off the rest of the night and be two normal college-aged kids looking for a good time at a bar?"

She narrowed her eyes. "I thought this was our good time?" she teased.

He smirked, a classic, sexy, trademark King smirk. "Ah, this was just the warm up… C'mon." He grabbed her by the hand and started back to the bar.

She protested half-heartedly. "But we have so much stuff to do… patrols, clean-up, weapons checks…"

"Whatever, that can wait. You're only young once, Whistler. You can fight vamps when you're a granny. They don't let you into clubs after the age of thirty-five…" He paused. "Unless you've aged real well," he added, partially to himself.

They showed their stamps at the door and were back into the world of dazzling lights, writhing bodies, and pounding music.

"Do you want to dance?" he asked, leaning down towards her.

She smiled. "I need a drink if I'm going to be able to handle your dancing!" she called back.

"I'll get you one!" He weaved through the crowd towards the bar and ordered a beer and a long island iced tea. Looking back, he could see her leaning back against a stand-up table, eyes alert and scanning the crowd, weight supported on her elbows to show off her ripped muscles and perfect chest. She didn't know how sexy she was, dammit, and that made her even more irresistible. She didn't stop hunting, even on her off-time, apparently.

Guys' eyes were drifting to her, humans, and a few even worked up the courage to go talk to the beautiful huntress. He was shot down, to King's relief, as she shook her head and gestured to the bar and him.

He grabbed the drinks and made his way back to the table. "Evening gentlemen," he said, handing Abby her drink and moving possessively close to her. He wanted to kiss her to show them that she was _his_ but knew that he'd get his ass kicked across the club for it. They nodded, backing down and drifting off and he turned to Abby. "You never ease up, do you?"

"What?" she asked innocently, sipping her drink. "Oh, this is good."

"I saw you scanning the club, fingering stakes as they came near. Can't you turn it off for one night? Let's just pretend that we're two college kids, we've been studying hard for a whole week and now we're ready for a break… so we come out here to do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight… ohh!" He caught the blank look on her face. "Oh, come on. You've never heard that song?"

She shook her head, taking another sip. "Sorry, King, I'm not as cultured as you. And I ease up. I have fun."

He took a swig of beer. "Sharpening your knife collection doesn't constitute as fun, Abigail Whistler. Now, I'll race you to the bottom and then we'll go get some tequila shots."

¤ ¤ ¤

Okay guys, I know it's short but I couldn't cut the next part up any other way…


	6. Drunk, Frustrated and Angry

Chapter 6: Drunk, Frustrated and Angry

¤ ¤ ¤

"I can't believe that I've never done this before!" Abby yelled. "This is so much fun!" And I know I'm being an idiot but it's okay because I'm drunk!" She reached out to stroke King's cheek. "Thank you for bringing me here!"

King watched her laugh and sighed inwardly. Three hours later, lots of dancing (which took all his control not to take her right there on the dance floor as she rubbed her gorgeous fucking body against his), and now back to the shots. He was drunk but not drunk enough to merit taking advantage of the beautiful girl in front of him. She was really drunk and even though they say that your innermost desires came out as your inhibition lowered, he didn't want to jeopardize what could be right for what could be right now. Plus, she probably didn't want him to fuck her, just someone to fuck to get the tension out. Which, as much as he didn't want to admit, would break his heart. How much of a pansy did that make him? And if that wasn't the case, and he was wrong and she didn't want any from anyone then he'd just get his head kicked in. "Okay, Whistler, time to hit the pavement."

She stopped and cocked her head to the side. "You never call me Abby. Why?"

He stood up and offered her a hand "Let's go…"

She stood up and allowed him to lead her outside. "Answer my question, King."

He stared distractedly down the street. "Damn, why is it so hard to find a cab when you really want one but when you don't, they're practically running you over…"

She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. "It's cold out."

He draped an arm around her, pulling her against his warm body, and finally got a cab with the other hand. "Okay, here we go. In you get." He guided her into the backseat and climbed in after her. "The marina," he told the cabbie then sat back as they started off. He figured they could walk from the marina up to the Honeycomb Hideout without attracting too many suspicions. Just a drunken college guy with his drunken college girlfriend looking for a secluded place to get some. He looked down at Abby, swaying to an imaginary beat in her head, a smile playing on her lips, and groaned. God, he wished it were true. But it wasn't and he didn't want to take advantage of her like that. So, he steeled himself and turned towards the passing scenery as a distraction.

¤ ¤ ¤

Abby slitted her eyes to look over at King as he groaned and turned to look out the window. What the fuck was her problem? She was in a cab. With King. And she fucking wanted him. What the fuck was his problem? She knew he wanted her and had been waiting all night for him to lean towards her and growl sexily into her ear, "Let's get out of here" but when he had, it was as if he were holding himself back. As if he didn't want her anymore. Why didn't he want her anymore? Was she just a dumb drunk and he didn't want to take advantage of her? Or was it that she was all wrong and all the sexual innuendoes and the banter was just that and she was imagining the whole thing? Only one way to find out. She leaned over and tapped him on the shoulder.

¤ ¤ ¤

King felt the tap and saw her determined face reflected in the window. He set his jaw and turned, determined to keep her from making a huge mistake. He was met with her pushing him up against the door, her lips on his, her hand tangled in his hair, pulling him closer. "Whistler, I-"

"Shut up King, and call me Abby," she whispered against his mouth, her other hand sliding under his shirt to feel his abs. She tasted of alcohol and something distinctly Abigail Whistler; smelled of sweat and her lilac body wash that he smelled _every fucking time_ he got in the shower after her which made him either take a really cold shower or take care of himself. Her tight body against his was a dream, made him want to say 'fuck it' and have her in the cab right then and there. But he couldn't. They couldn't. It wasn't right. It took all he had, but he pushed her away. "Abby, I can't, we can't, we just can't… this isn't right. You're drunk and I'm sort of drunk and I don't want to take advantage of you like that…"

She sat back with a thump. "What?"

"I don't want you to wake up tomorrow and be like, this is all a fucking mistake and then we have this whole big fight or not talk to each other or any of the million things that you see in the movies after two people do this because I don't want that to happen to us." He took a breath then pushed ahead as she opened her mouth, "And it's not because I don't want you because goddamn, Abby, I do. I really fucking want you. But I want an 'us' even more and if we're going to have an 'us' then we can't have this right now," he babbled. "Because I need you sober and able to make your own decisions without all the alcohol that I dumped down your throat…"

She stared at him and he stared back, mouth dry. Why didn't she fucking say something. Shit. Even though he'd tried to make it better, he just made it fucking worse. Way fucking worse. Now, she would never talk to him again because he felt rejected.

"The marina," the cab driver announced, breaking the tension.

King reached for his wallet and paid the man as Abby got out the other side.

They walked towards the Hideout in silence. And King was too much of a pussy to break the silence.

He wondered whether he'd made it worse by rejecting her or whether it would have been easier to fix if they had just slept together. He snuck a look at her.

She was walking upright without so much of a stumble so she must be more sober than he'd originally thought. She stalked up the gangplank and inside without even looking at him. Straight to her room and he heard the door slam.

He went to the kitchen and grabbed two one-litre bottles of water.

If she didn't get water into her system, she'd feel like shit the next day.

He'd feel like shit the next day regardless. No amount of water was going to make this better.

He stood in front of her door a long time, wondering whether he should knock and what the fuck he would say if she actually opened the door to him. Finally, with a sigh, he gave up and placed the water bottle gently beside the door and went to his own room, mentally kicking his own ass for being such a pussy.

¤ ¤ ¤

More to come really soon!


	7. The Truth

Chapter 7: **The Truth**

¤ ¤ ¤

Abby stormed to her room without looking at him and slammed the door shut. She was angry. Really fucking angry. Okay, so he _did_ want her but he just didn't want to fuck up the friendship. The exact same fucking thing that was stopping her before. It figured. It just fucking figured. When she finally decided to say 'fuck it' and start something with him, he got all fucking mature and cautious on the subject. She paced back and forth. What the hell! Why now? Why did he choose now to show his fucking knight in shining armour complex? Finally, when she let down her shields, he brought his up. What the fuck! She heard him in the kitchen above then come down and stop in front of her door. She moved towards it, meaning to either wrench it open and let him have it or wrench it open, drag his ass inside and show him just how wrong he was by fucking his brains out. But then again, both options showed just how drunk she was. But she knew that if anything did happen, she wouldn't regret it in the morning.

That was why she'd chosen the damn bar as the stakeout! Knowing full well how much he loved bars, loved to party, and wanted to get her drunk, she knew that he would bring them back there. And then, with a little liquid courage, she could do something about this raging infatuation with him.

His footsteps moved on and she leaned her forehead against the door. She couldn't do it. She couldn't rage on King for something that was her own problem… She closed her eyes.

A second later, her eyes snapped open. No. Fuck him. She deserved to be happy. She deserved to be able to tell him off. She deserved to tell him exactly what she thought and exactly what she felt. Who the fuck was he to stop her from finally expressing something that she'd kept inside? Who the fuck was she to not be the girl that she was and speak her mind and to not back down from a challenge?

Throwing open the door, she tried to storm down to his room. Tripping ungracefully on the water bottle, she crashed into the opposite wall, barely catching herself. Throwing her hair out of her face, she got her feet back under her, squared her shoulders, and continued on to his room.

¤ ¤ ¤

She all but kicked in the door in. "King, we need to talk."

King was in the process of undressing, pants down, one leg raised to pull them off. He turned to look at her, lost his balance, hopped twice in an effort to get it back, tripped and landed hard on his back. "Sure," he replied casually, looking like a flipped turtle. "Make yourself comfortable…"

She would have laughed if she hadn't been so determined to tell him off. Instead, she stood over him, arms crossed. "Where the hell do you get off, King?"

He looked at her blankly before darting a glance at the bed. "Well-"

"Cut the defence mechanism. Why the hell didn't you kiss me tonight?"

King opened his mouth, thought for a second, then promptly closed it.

"I mean, we've had this back and forth bit since you came to us. Everyone can feel the tension between us. We have a zillion and a half innuendoes a day. God, we've even started to repeat them! And now, you had your chance to have me and you bail on it? What the fuck, King? Do you not want me anymore? Do you think that I'm just some dumb horny little girl that just wanted to get some? Am I not attractive enough for you? Do I revolt you somehow?"

"Whistler, I-"

"Abby! My name is Abby! What the hell is with that too? Why don't you call me Abby? Or god, even Abigail? You're not going to dodge the question this time!"

He blinked up at her. "Well, if you must know, which I figured you already knew… I have had a raging hard-on for you, Whistler-" he held up a hand as she opened her mouth to berate him again, moving himself around so he was sitting upright against the bed "-hold on. And it's easier to keep you at a distance if I call you Whistler. At least it started out that way. Now, it's just as bad. It's like a pet name that I have for you. Whistler's this kick-ass, beautiful, dangerous, sexy creature that tears into vamps. And that's hot. That's really fucking hot to me. So, that's one side of you. The other side, rare that it is, is Abby or Abigail, the girl who takes care of people, plays with Zoe, reads classics. And she's graceful and delicate and so damn beautiful that I can't even talk around her. I'm just a meathead that is lewd and makes stupid comments and can't keep his head straight when you're around. And the reason why I didn't try anything tonight was because I didn't want it to be this way. I didn't want it to be a drunken sex thing that we write off as nothing or as just something that we do when we're drunk, horny and feeling alone. I wanted it to mean something. And I didn't think it would if we were trashed. And I also think that you would have denied the whole thing tomorrow or write it off as a stupid drunken mistake because you don't want anyone near you."

"I would not!" she denied vehemently.

King gave her a knowing look. "You can't keep yourself caged, Abby. You have to let go sometimes and let someone help you. Otherwise you'll go crazy and fuck a dog or something." He grinned.

She kicked his foot lightly then slid down to sit next to him. "I would never fuck a dog."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Of course not, dear Abby."

They were quiet for a few minutes then, "How about a goat?"

"King!"

"Sorry."

She looked over at him. "So, now what?"

He looked back at her. "We go to bed."

"I thought you said-"

"Sleep, Whistler, I need sleep." He stripped down to his boxers and climbed onto bed. "You can stay or you can go back to bed…"

She climbed up beside him.

"That's my girl…" He slid an arm around her and pulled her close.

¤ ¤ ¤

Well, what do you think? I know, I know, not super Abby/King romance but they're budding… :) More to come later…


	8. Tough Love

¤ ¤ ¤

They woke up, entangled with each other and the sheets.

King shifted so he could get a better look at Abby's face in the early morning light. It wasn't often that he could catch her in a vulnerable state like this. Only three times could you catch her: sleeping, reading to Zoe, and when she was thinking of her father. She got this delicate feel about her. Made you want to protect her. He closed his eyes, wincing as the sun hit them. God, he'd drunk too much last night. He glanced down at Abby again. Poor girl. She'd probably be worse off. He slid out of bed and padded down to the kitchen to grab her Tylenol and a water bottle. When he got back, she was sitting up, flipping through a book. He leaned against the doorjam and watched her. God, he loved watching her. Not in a creepy stalker kind of way… okay, so maybe he did… but she was just fucking gorgeous. When she fought, when she trained, when she slept, when she ate, when she breathed… just fucking gorgeous… "Hey."

She jumped then winced, clutching her head. "Fuck, King… don't do that… you're the only one that can do that…"

He grinned. "What? Sneak up on you? It's because of my ultra-sneaky sneak powers…" He moved towards her, putting his hands behind his back. "Pick a hand."

She put the book down, smiling, and stuck her hand out to his left arm. "That one."

He brought out an empty hand.

"Jerk." She pointed to the right one. "That one."

He brought out the pills and water and sat down next to her. "For the lady…"

She closed her eyes happily, taking a few pills and the water. "Thank you. God, this is why I don't drink…"

"See, I think your problem is that you just don't have enough practice. Maybe if you came out with me more…"

She shook her head. "Oh, no… forget it King. I am not going out ever again. This was one time too many."

He sighed dramatically. "That's okay… I guess I'll just have to teach Zoë in the fine arts of vodka shots…"

She hit him in the arm. "King! You will not!"

He put his arm around her, pulling her to him. "Fine. Fine."

They sat, half-awkward, half-comfortable, because neither knew where they actually stood on things.

"Abby-" he started quietly as she started to doze blissfully.

She jumped up, looking a bit flustered. Apparently she could take on a pack of vampires but was unable to have 'the chat' with a guy. "Well, I should go check on Zoë," she said abruptly, cutting him off. "Thanks for the aspirin and I'll see you later, okay?" She practically ran out the door. It wasn't until she got to Zoë's door that she felt her heartbeat slow. "Fuck me." God, she was even starting to sound like him… She peered in but Zoe wasn't in her room, which was weird because since Sommerfield, Dex and Hedges had gone on a mission, she'd either been in there or with Abby herself and King. She turned and started back towards the kitchen. "Zoë?"

¤ ¤ ¤

An hour later, she couldn't find the girl anywhere on the ship. Gritting her teeth, she started back to the bow, intent on searching the whole thing again. Even if she had to tear things apart, she'd find the kid. But, as she continued the search, her anger turned to worry and then to fear. She turned a corner and almost ran smack into King.

He almost walked right past her. She could see the hurt in his eyes. Then he noticed her own watery pair of greens and his protective instincts kicked in. "Hey, you okay?"

She shook her head, not trusting herself to speak in case she burst into tears. "Zoë," she managed.

He caught hold of her arm, supporting her. "What's wrong? Is she okay? Where is she?"

"I dunno," she was on the verge now, very close to crying but tried to keep herself strong, at least to keep King from freaking out. "I can't find her. She's missing."

His jaw tightened and she knew that he was thinking the exact same thing as she was – kidnapped. "Well, have you searched the ship?"

"Yes. All of it! Twice!" She felt frantic, a foreign emotion for Abigail Whistler. She started shivering.

"Hey, hey, it's going to be okay… Zoë's going to be fine… C'mon, we'll look again."

They scoured the ship once more but couldn't find her anywhere, ending up in the kitchen, where she started pacing back and forth. He leaned back against the counter on the other side of the kitchen watching her.

"Look, there's no sign of a struggle so we can't be sure that she's been taken or… something…" he trailed off, feeling kind of useless.

"What else could happen?" she snapped. "She knows not to wander off! She knows not to go off with strangers! Where the fuck else would she be?" She glared at him, breathing heavily, as if she could blame him for it.

"How the fuck should I know?" he yelled back. "How is this my fault?"

"I'm not blaming you!" she yelled back, unconvincingly. "But if we hadn't been so reckless and hormonally driven then we wouldn't have been out for hours and we wouldn't have slept in and we would know what happened to her!"

He leaned across the table, growling at her dangerously, "Don't do that Abby. Don't you fucking dare do that. One night. One fucking night! And nothing happened! It's the exact same thing as if we'd been out hunting and slept in. You're only freaking out because you feel guilty because you almost actually enjoyed yourself!"

"Do not!"

"You're fucking scared." He moved around the table towards her.

"No," she said desperately, backing away so she could keep the table between them. "Stop fucking around, King. We have to find Zoë. This is ridiculous!"

He gripped the edge of the table, briefly thinking of flipping it but on second though, just shoved it aside, knocking the chairs over. He caught Abby around the waist as she lunged towards the door, and pulled her back.

She hit the edge of the table, knocking the breath momentarily from her lungs, and then King's lips were on hers. One hand was tangled in her hair, which had fallen out of its elastic, and his other moved around from its grasp on her hip to the small of her back, pulling her flush against him.

She gasped and her hands came up to tangle in his hair.

His hands came down to her hips and he lifted her onto the table. He fingered her shirt and when she didn't protest, pulled it over her head.

Her legs wrapped around him as she pulled him closer, relieving him of his own shirt.

"Abby? King? We've come home!" Caulder called from the deck.

They stopped, breathing heavily, foreheads pressed against each other's.

"And we bought ice cream!" Zoë shrieked happily.

Abby's eyes opened and met King's, which reflected her relief.

She pushed on his shoulders but he didn't budge.

"Fuck, Whistler…"

"King. Move, before we educate Zoë way too early about stuff her mom would kill me for teaching her…"

He paused for a moment, studying her face, her eyes, then let go and bent to retrieve her shirt. "If only to preserve your dignity…"

She heard their footsteps coming down the stairs and reached for her shirt.

King pulled it out of reach and as she reached for it, he kissed her again.

She responded then pulled away as they were coming down the hallway. "King," she said warningly.

He grinned. "Not like they haven't seen it before."

She kicked him in the shin. "Don't be an asshole…"

"Ow… tough love, Whistler, tough love…"He pulled his shirt on and moved to pick up the overturned chairs.

She got her shirt on and jumped off the table just as the kitchen door swung open.

"Abby!" Zoe cried joyfully. "You're awake! Caulder told me not to wake you up!"

Abby winced at the girl's pitch. "Yeah, I-"

"Morning Abigail…" Caulder placed a large Styrofoam cup of coffee in front of her. "You look a bit flushed. Maybe you should take the day off…"

She flushed, feeling her face redden even more. "I'm fine." She grabbed the coffee with a hurried thanks, rushed out of the room past a laughing King.

¤ ¤ ¤

Well, that's it… let me know what you think!


	9. Love and Loss

Sorry for the delay… here you go…

¤ ¤ ¤

He snuck up on her while she was working on her laptop. Her headphones were on and she was so focused that she didn't even know he was there until her chair was spun around and King's eyes were boring into her. He leaned forward and kissed her.

She pulled off her headphones and pushed him away. "King!"

He stopped kissing her but stayed leaning on the chair, trapping her arms on the armrests.

"I'm gonna keep coming after you until you let me in, Whistler."

"King, we can't… I can't…" But her resolve weakened as he leaned in and kissed her neck, along her collarbone. "King," she said weakly. "Sto-"

He nipped her collarbone then smiled as she tensed up with a tiny gasp. "Liar," he mocked.

"King it's too dangerous. What if something happens? What if we get into this and one of us goes down? I can't…"

"You think too much, Whistler…" he whispered against her neck, a bit muffled.

"It's complicated."

He pulled back. "It's never complicated, Abby. You either do or you don't," he said angrily. "You take risks with your life every night! Why can't you take a risk on this?" He paced back and forth in front of her. "Abby, you frustrated me to no end!"

She stood up, now angry. "I frustrate you? **I** frustrate **you**? You were the one who wouldn't take advantage of the situation when I was all for it!"

"You! I wouldn't take advantage of you!"

They stood toe to toe, faces inches apart.

"Maybe if you told me how you really felt instead of hiding behind your sarcasm and your stupid jokes then it wouldn't be so hard to open up! Maybe if you weren't such a manwhore and open for anyone and everyone to fuck, I'd be more likely to trust you!" She yelled.

"Fine!" he yelled back. He wanted to shake her. He grabbed her by the arms, feeling her biceps tense up. "I love you, Abby. I fucking love you, okay? Are you happy? There's my heart. I just ripped it out and tossed it at your feet. What are you going to do with it?"

She broke his grip easily, pulled him towards her and kissed him hard, her hands tangled in his hair.

¤ ¤ ¤

"Oh my god."

"Thank you…" She could hear the smirk in his voice.

She hit him in the chest lightly. "Don't ruin it, smart ass…"

He kissed her bare shoulder. "Sorry, old habits die hard."

She shifted on the floor, suddenly feeling shy.

"Don't Abby," he said softly, reading her mind. "Don't hide from me…"

She turned and met his eyes. "I'm scared."

He wrapped his arms around her and held on tightly. He didn't have an answer.

¤ ¤ ¤

Abby threw a leg over the motorcycle and revved it up. She sped out of the garage and headed towards downtown. As she neared the Starbucks, her anxiety grew, just like it always did before meeting her father.

She barely knew him. She'd found him when she turned seventeen, when she'd found out she was adopted, that her mother had died in childbirth and her father had been a bastard that didn't take care of his mistakes. She'd been really angry at first, unable to contact him. Then, after her roommate had been attacked by a guy who had bitten her, actually bitten her, she'd decided that she'd find him. And maybe the rumours were true, maybe there were vampires and her biological father, Whistler, was actually a vampire hunter.

So, she'd found him, convinced him to train her after a few months of fighting and yelling back and forth, and the rest, as they say, was history…

She climbed off the bike and went inside. She ordered a tea and sat down at their usual table by the window. Minutes later, her father joined her.

"Abby." He clasped her hand tightly.

She tightened her grip. "Hi Daddy." As always, she bit back tears. "What's new?"

"Same shit, different day," he replied tiredly.

She let go and rummaged through her bag. "Sommerfield's been working on this new way of getting Blade his serum. She's made an oral injection." She passed a small case over to him. "No more hassles with needles…"

He opened it up and pulled one out. "Hmm, some doc you've got there."

"There's a month's supply there. That's all she could make without it expiring.

He chuckled. "Blade'll hate it. It's perfect." He put it down beside him and pulled papers from his jacket. "Here's the new stats. They don't look pretty."

She scanned them quickly then put them in her bag. "Thanks."

He settled back. "So how's things?" he asked awkwardly.

She smiled gently. Whistler was always trying to be the real dad. "They're good. How's Blade?"

He relaxed again. It was easier to talk about Blade. "Still stubborn as shit."

"Tell me a story." This is how it always ended. She'd say 'tell me a story' and he'd tell her a tale of Blade's latest adventures.

"Well, we were downtown by the harbour…"

She relaxed and sat back, sipping her tea. She could escape real life here, she could get away, feel safe, pretend it was just a story a father was telling his daughter…

"…and they supposedly caught it on camera…"

She snapped back with a jolt. "What? What d'you mean?"

"The familiar said they caught it on camera…"

"You guys need to come to the Hive. It's not safe for you anymore."

"We're fine, Abby. We've been through tougher."

"Not with bringing in humans…"

He patted her hand. "We'll be fine." He stood up, picking up his jacket and the briefcase. "See you next week." He dipped and kissed her on the temple. "Love you," he said gruffly then disappeared out into the crowd.

"Love you too," she replied, then bowed her head and the tea, her shoulders shaking. "Oh Daddy."

¤ ¤ ¤

King was waiting at the door to the garage when she got home. He hustled her straight to her room, stripped them both down to their underwear and crawled into bed with her. He held her tightly as she shook, rocking her back and forth, whispering random comfort to her. He didn't know how or why her father affected her so badly but he hated it. If he could make it better, he would have but there was nothing. She had to have contact with him. She wanted it. He closed his eyes and hugged her tighter.

"My father's going to die," she whispered.

"What?"

She turned to him, her eyes full of unshed tears. "I could see it in his eyes. He knows he's going to die."

¤ ¤ ¤

Abby walked into the Hive after a long hunt. All she wanted was a shower and her bed. She walked into the main office and found Sommerfield and King together, whispering. They stopped as soon as she entered. "What? What happened?"

They stared at her.

King reached for her. "Abby…"

She flinched away and her eyes stung. "It's my dad, isn't it?"

"Abby…"

"He's dead, isn't he?"

Sommerfield reached towards her. "Come here, Abby. Come here."

She almost fell into the blind doctor's arms, tears bursting. "It's not fair!"

"I know honey, I know." Sommerfield groped for King's hand and pulled him towards them. His hand came in contact with hers and she clutched it.

"But Abby…" he whispered.

She calmed down. There was something else. "What?"  
"We gotta go save Blade. The FBI's got him and I'm betting the vamps are on their way…"

She pulled herself together. "Okay, let's go."

Sommerfield frowned. "I smell blood. Abby, you're bleeding."

"I'll fix up on my way. Let's go."

¤ ¤ ¤

Well, I dunno whether to write about during the film or not… any suggestions? Thanks, reviews are appreciated!


	10. The Rescue

¤ ¤ ¤

"So how are we going to do this?"

Abby peered up at the building but didn't say anything for awhile. Finally, she spoke. "I'll go for Blade."

King shook his head. "We should stick together. There's cops all over the building and suckers everywhere just waiting to sink their STD ridden fangs into your gorgeous ivory biteable skin…"

She turned to him with dead eyes. "I'm fine."

"You're bleeding from six different places…" he said wryly.

"Fine," she snarled. "You go get him then. I'll guard."

He stayed for a moment, wanting to say something, then, thinking better of it, started towards the open vent.

She waited five minutes, fuming. She felt like she could take on everyone in that building, human and vampire alike, whatever the odds. She then checked her guns and started in.

¤ ¤ ¤

As the vamp flew through the glass, King caught his first real live look at a the man, the legend, Blade. The guy didn't look that tough… cold as ice though. Lethargic at the moment with enough tranq to bring down an elephant.

"Hello Ladies…" He slid the inhaler into Blade's mouth. "Wake up Blade…This is your rescue…"

He turned to take Danica down but she dodged then bolted, her brother two steps behind. He was fighting off Jarko when Blade got up.

Holy Jesus Christ.

Jarko hit the door and flew through.

"Go."

King bolted out. He slid down the hall a bit and caught sight of Blade coming out of the door. Holy fuck. The guy was one scary son of a bitch. A few security guys came after him but nothing he couldn't handle. He turned his attention for a minute to see people bolting all over the place, shots firing and down the corridor, Abby. "Whistler!"

She turned, the light of battle in her eyes. "This way!"

They ran, having to hole up in a side hallway as human and vamp alike fired on them in a semi trap/ambush.

Suddenly Blade turned and jumped up into a vent.

"Hey! Whoa whoa whoa!" King yelled. "Where are you going? Where the fuck is he going? This is supposed to be a rescue!"

Abby shrugged, firing shot after shot, missing. "We've pinned down…"

"I can't shoot around corners," he yelled, frustrated.

She unstrapped her bow. "I can."

He winked at her then threw a flash grenade towards the police. They bolted after the vamps, Abby firing arrows.

They made it outside just as the cops showed up. At least

"Okay, we're fucked." King started as Blade jumped out of a window to land beside them.

"Forgot my sword…" he quipped.

King raised his eyebrow. Maybe the guy wasn't so icy after all… before he could reply, a beat up jeep broke through the police barrier and Dex jumped out. "Whoo! C'mon."

¤ ¤ ¤

King came up behind Abby on the foredeck and slid his arms around her. He'd helped her clean herself up before dinner so she was covered in bandages and smelled of iodine. All through the meal, she'd been quiet and had left right after clean-up. He'd given her two hours of alone time then decided to track her down. He'd found her on the foredeck, wrapped up in her own misery. He hugged her for awhile before talking. "You okay?"

She nodded in his arms, sniffing.

"You sure?"

Another nod, then he felt hot tears on his arm.

"Hey… hey… c'mere." He turned her around to face him.

She buried her face in his chest. "I didn't even know him… why am I so wrecked?"

He held her tightly. "He was your dad, Abs. Even if he didn't act it, he was your flesh and blood…"

"I don't want to care, King. Not like this…"

He held her at arms length, looking into her big beautiful eyes. "Never say that, Abby. This is what reminds you that you're human."

"I know…" she replied in a small voice.

"C'mon," he led her gently back inside. "Let's go to bed."

¤ ¤ ¤

"Oh my god Abby, it's him! It's Drake!"

The office erupted in chaos. Blade fired at Drake, drake dodged, lunged and grabbed King by the throat.

Abby almost screamed. No. Not King. Not now. Not when they just… She wanted to jump but she knew she'd never make it. She wanted to shoot Drake right between the eyes but knew she'd never get a shot off. She couldn't do a fucking thing!

"Just shoot him!"

Drake pulled a silver stake from King's chest holster. "Go ahead Blade, show me what you're made of."

King yelled as Drake drove it into his shoulder. He could see the tears in Abby's eyes. He wanted to comfort her, wanted to call out but the pain shot out through his body, making the urge to scream stronger. He fell and watched through pain-hazed eyes as Drake crashed through the window, Blade seconds behind.

"King!" Abby screamed, throwing herself down beside him. She started rummaging through her bag and pulled out a med kit. "This is an elastic protein… it'll hurt but it will stop the bleeding…"

"Hey Abs…"

"No teary heartfelt confession, King. Not now. You're not going to die…"

"What did one lesbian say to the other?"

She stared at him. Even in extreme pain the jokes didn't stop… "What?"

"See you in 28 days." He laughed, ending in a gasp of pain.

"Oh god, c'mon." She helped him up and they stumbled towards the elevators.

Inside, he leaned against the wall and pulled her gently into his arms, despite the pain. "Hey, I'm going to be fine."

"Let's let Sommerfeld decide that."

"You still want me right now though right? I make a sexy stab victim, don't I?"

She rolled her eyes. "Jokes right to the limit, eh?"

"Well, don't I?"

They hit the ground floor and the doors pinged open. Abby started out towards the front doors.

"Hey! What about me?"

"If you can crack jokes, you can walk, joke boy…"

¤ ¤ ¤

She opened the door carefully, just in case he was asleep. He wasn't. He was sitting up, still watching an Italian movie. She watched his eyes moving across the screen. He looked calm and relaxed, a change from the surgery room when Sommerfeld was trying to stitch up his shoulder. Abby was trying to hold him down while he writhed around on the table.

His eyes stopped. He'd noticed her.

"How're you feeling?" she asked softly, coming towards him.

"Like I've been stabbed…" But he smiled anyway and patted the bed. "Sit with me. Goddamn, you're hurt."

She brushed it off and sat carefully beside him. "I'm fine…You going to tell me the secret of life?"

His good arm slid around her and pulled her closer. "Watch with me."

She snuggled into him. "I still can't put you and Italian movies together…"

"Hey, I have class. I'm cultured!" He tried to sound indignant.

"Says the guy who drinks scotch from the bottle…"

¤ ¤ ¤

Okay, so there are a few discrepancies in it but I wanted to put in some stuff so there you go... a little artistic liscense... let me know what you think!


	11. Battling Dracula

¤ ¤ ¤

She bolted up the gangplank. There was something wrong, she could tell… Nothing was out of the ordinary but she could just tell. She bolted up into the ship, yelling. She didn't care if she warned anyone of their arrival, she wanted, no, needed to hear someone's voice. Sommerfeld, Dex… King.

"King! Dex! Sommerfeld!" She was hysterical, like the day she thought she'd lost Zoe.

Nothing. The ship was quiet, deserted. 'Where the fuck was everyone?' she wanted to scream.

Then she stepped in it. She knew what it was immediately. She'd stepped in it a million times before. Tears seeped out and she blinked before steeling herself to look down.

Dex and Hedges, throats ripped out. Ste stifled her cry of anguish and raced on.

No one in the kitchen. No sign of a struggle.

No on in the rooms. Nothing disturbed.

She raced to the sickbay. The room had been tossed, signs of a struggle but no bloodbath. King, wherever he was, was alive.

She turned and her breathing stopped, her chest tightened. There was blood splattered all over the surgery room. She could feel Blade behind her as she tore back the curtains.

Irrationally, 'quick, like a bandaid' came to mind.

Sommerfeld's body was suspended like a morbid crucifixion in front of her.

"No, Sommerfeld, no! C'mon. Not you!" She rushed to untie the woman but knew she was already dead.

She dropped to the floor, clutching Sommerfeld's body to her chest, and screamed.

¤ ¤ ¤

"You okay?"

She was measuring and balancing her bow. "I'm fine."

Inside, she was screaming. Everything had been torn from her. Everything was gone – her father, her friends, King – and now she was alone.

Morbidly, she wished they'd never been, then she wouldn't be feeling the big gaping wound in her chest.

Then King's voice whispered inside her. "That's what keeps you human, Abs" and she was centred once again.

She took her things out to the firing range.

Tonight was the night of reckoning.

Tonight Drake would die and she'd have King back. He wasn't dead. If Danica had her way, he was sitting in chains somewhere waiting for her to try and slut it up with him.

She set up the radar and fired off her first arrow.

204 mph.

Fluidly, she reached for the second.

234 mph.

Nothing else but the bow, the arrow and her breathing.

255 mph.

The arrow flying into Drake's heart, literally shattering it like her was.

She was ready to kill this bastard.

¤ ¤ ¤

King was tired of being kicked around, tired of being threatened, tired of Danica's chatter and terrible taste. So, when he tasted the silver nitrate, he smiled.

Abby.

Her face floated into his pain-stricken mind. Her smiling, her kicking his ass, her ass, her smouldering looks sent his way after a kill just before she pulled him into a dark alley…

"You feel that? That is the taste of silver nitrate, which means I'm going to be rescued in three, two, one…"

Nothing.

Shit. Had he imagined it? Where the hell were they?

Then the glass shattered overhead and Blade appeared, a dark knight in shining leather.

Danica, Turk and Asher bolted from the room and Blade went after them, ignoring King.

"Uh, little help?" King raised the chains around his wrists.

… And his fair lady not far behind… Her beautiful voice cut through his thoughts.

"Need some help?" she teased.

"Well, I thought I'd try gnawing through my arm but then I was worried you wouldn't find me as gorgeous with one arm… plus balancing would be a nightmare…"

She tilted his head back and gave him a long sweet kiss before stepping back and shooting the chain.

"Thanks. I needed that."

She unstrapped a bag. "Brought your toys… try to keep up." She ruffled his hair, wanting to stay but she had to keep up with Blade.

¤ ¤ ¤

They ran to Blade's body together.

"No!" Abby yelled. "He can't be…" she trailed off as her eyes rolled back in her head and she fainted.

He caught her. She had definitely lost a lot of blood. 'Too much blood,' he thought, looking at her pale skin. Way too pale. He hefted her higher into his arms and clicked on his earpiece. "Caulder, I need an evac! Now!"

Caulder's voice came back, annoyingly calm. "What's the damage?"

"Abby's lost a lot of blood and Blade's on the ground."

"Dead?"

"Dunno. Don't think so but I can't check, I've got my arms full of Abby."

"Meet you out front in fifteen minutes. Try to get them both downstairs." He signed off, leaving King standing helplessly with Abby in his arms, staring at Blade.

"Fuck!"

He didn't want to leave Abby alone for a second but he wanted to get her the fuck out of there as fast as he could. He lay her down, and flinched as he lightly slapped her. He didn't want to wake her up. He wanted to leave her in a peaceful place away from the pain. "Abby. Abby, sweetheart, I need you to wake up. I know you want to stay comfy and comatose but I need you to wake up. It's getting really fucking boring here by myself…"

Her eyes fluttered. "King… shut up…" she groaned.

He laughed in relief, kissing her all over her face. "Thank god. Okay, okay. I have to get you and Blade downstairs in less than fifteen minutes."

She lifted a hand weakly, pointing up. "Rappelling gear. Bag."

"Okay." He hesitated for a second, not wanting to leave her but she pushed against him weakly and he bolted. He climbed to her sniper spot and found her bag of tricks. He climbed back down, his eyes on her. He slipped and fell the last few feet, landing painfully on his ankle. "Fuck," he barely stifled.

"King, you okay?" Abby's voice came to him, worried and full of pain.

"Fine. I'm fine." He gritted his teeth and hobbled back to her. He dropped the bag and started rooting through it. "Okay, I've got harnesses and I've got rope but I don't know if the harness will hold all of us and I don't know if the rope is long enough to reach the ground."

She closed her eyes and didn't reply for awhile and he reached to shake her. Her eyes snapped open. "We have to try King," she said softly. "The police will come We don't have enough time."

He took a deep breath. "Okay." He picked up a piece of debris and threw it through the window then started strapping the harness on, clipping in the rope and tying knots. He tied a make-shift harness around her and hoisted her up. "Can you stand?"

She flashed a faint smile. "I can lean…" She leaned against him as hoisted up Blade and tied a harness around him to his own back.

"You get shotgun sweetheart." He strapped her to his front. "If we're going to die, I'd rather look at your beautiful face than ugly back there."

She smiled, eyes half closed. "I love you, Hannibal King."

He kissed her gently. "I love you too, Abigail Whistler."

Then he jumped.

¤ ¤ ¤


End file.
